Do Failed Expectations Demand a Verdict?
I’m back — rested, relaxed, and ready to rock. One of the books I read on vacation was a historical-critical, religious textbook titled, “Understanding the New Testament” by Howard Clark Kee (Prentice-Hall, 1983).
My father gave it to me for Christmas ‘83 (according to his inscription inside), when I was first starting to study and take Christianity seriously. But I never read it until now.
See if you find its author’s perspectives as insightful and useful as I?
Like most, if not all, biblical scholars (Christian and non-Christian alike), Kee rightly recognizes that all New Testament writers, the 1st-century Church, and even some Jews were expecting the fulfillment of all eschatological hopes and promises within their lifetime. He characterizes non-fulfillment as “the failure of expectations” that created a major “credibility” problem for the Christian faith (p-297).
First, let’s look at a sampling of the 1st-century expectations Kee cites. Next, we’ll explore his verdict, and lastly, my verdict and thoughts.
1ST-CENTURY EXPECTATIONS:
* Even the Essenes, a Jewish sect (Qumran/Dead Sea Scrolls), were expecting the fulfillment of “the words and events” contained in their “prophetic books . . . in their own time” (59). They were “living in those last days” when “the Promised Land was in the hands of the wicked Jewish leaders, who were unfaithful to the covenant and ignorant of the truth of the law and the prophets. But now God was about to bring to fulfillment the new covenant he had promised” (60-61). Hence, “God would intervene, drive out the unworthy priesthood . . . and vindicate the faithful children of light . . . . That event was expected to take place in the near future” (153).
* “It was this same eschatological mode that was a major characteristic of the thought of Jesus and the New Testament writers (65) . . . . in the period before the destruction of the Temple” (66).
* “. . . when he [Jesus] appears in triumph at the end of the age. . . . his future coming. . . . That vindication, Mark quotes Jesus as affirming, will come during the lifetime of the first generation followers—which confirms the other evidence that Mark was writing about A.D. 70” (112).
* “For Luke . . . the subsequent judgment of God on the city are necessary elements in the working of the divine plan. The destruction of Jerusalem . . . the desecration of the Temple . . . are alluded to or described in veiled language . . . in Jerusalem that the triumphant Christ is to be revealed as judge at the consummation of the age . . . . is central to the whole redemptive purpose of God in Luke’s understanding” (181-2).
* “Since he [Paul] was convinced that the period of time until the coming of Christ and the end of the age was so short (250) . . . . Central for Paul was his confidence that the present age was nearing an end, soon to be replaced by the rule of God . . . . That was the ground of his hope not merely for the long-range future, but for the events he thought were soon to occur. . . . Paul expected to be among those who were alive at the time of this event [the parousia] (254). . . . to meet the Lord as he came to earth to set up his kingdom, which would last forever” (255).
* “the writer of [1] Peter is convinced that the present age will soon end (4:7) . . . the great event awaiting the Christians . . . . when at the end of the age the chief shepherd is manifested (5:4)” (336).
* “Both [1 Peter and Revelation] expect the end of the age to occur soon” (339).
* “There is the expectation that some of the disciples will survive until the parousia” (172).
* “The primitive community expected the return of Jesus within a very short time . . . . As time passed . . . . the only recourse was to comb the writings of the apostles to find hints about how problems were to be resolved” (370).
KEE’S VERDICT:
* 1st-century expectations were “wrong notions about the end of the age” (299).
* “The fall of Jerusalem was not accompanied by the parousia of Jesus” (297).
* “The parousia was still to come and the judgment that would occur then was a solemn matter for all people. Its urgency [however] was not so great” (204).
* But ”How was the Church to maintain the credibility of its faith?” (297).
* “Preoccupation with the return of Christ continued to be a difficulty in the Thessalonian community, as 2 Thessalonians indicates” (266).
* “By the end of the first century, however, the Church was forced by circumstances to adopt . . . . [a] radical modification of the older apocalyptic world view” (322).
* “The passing of his generation without that cosmic event taking place demanded a rethinking of the divine timetable for the establishment of God’s rule. . . . neither Jesus nor Paul expected a delay of more than a few decades . . . and the return of Christ in triumph to accomplish God’s plan” (297).
* “Later New Testament writers do not evade this problem, but deal with it in a variety of ways” (297).
* “The primary problem is the familiar one of the delay of the parousia, and that issue is explicitly raised, quoting scoffers in [2 Pet.] 3:3-4” (362).
* “The faithful . . . are encouraged to wait for the day of eschatological vindication and judgment, however long it may be delayed [2 Pet.] (3:14). . . . that delay is actually a sign of divine forebearance (3:15)” (363).
* “Luke has undertaken to show that . . . the delay of the parousia . . . as prime evidence that God is working out his purpose in history (175) . . . . He provided a perspective of meaning . . . which enabled the Christian community to survive what might have been a fatal crisis in the nonfulfillment of the expectation of the parousia” (204).
* “It does not matter, therefore, how long the Last Day may be delayed. . . . All is leading to the promised day, whose coming is now made certain by God’s provision of the Messiah, by his triumph over death, by the power of the Spirit, and by the activity of the Church in fulfilling its mission” (183).
* “The Letters of John are a response to this crisis. . . . There was no need for concern about the return of Christ, since his presence was already being fully and powerfully experienced in the community through the Paraclete, the Spirit whom he sent” (351).
* “John reminds his readers that Christ will appear in the future, and he uses the traditional term parousia to refer to his coming” (355).
* ”In the post-70 period, eschatological expectations had waned or been altered” (299).
* “The eschatological hope is no longer the occasion for improvisation, but remains rather a reminder of ultimate responsibility to God and the eventual day of reckoning” (319).
* We “need to be ready for the final period, which will bring to a close the present age and usher in the age to come” (318).
* But “there is no way to determine the precise time of the end, since that is a secret known to God alone . . . . It is the responsibility of the community to be ever faithful and ever watchful” (116).
So how does Kee support his “delayed” position? He dates the writing of 17 of the 27 New Testament books, which are still anticipating eschatological events and Christ’s consummating coming as yet future, to a post A.D. 70 period, thusly—Matthew 85-100, John 90-100, Luke-Acts 85-100, Ephesians 75-100, 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus 100-130, Hebrews 90-95, James 90-100, 1 Peter 90-95, 2 Peter 130-150, 1, 2, and 3 John 90-110, Jude 110-130, and Revelation 90-95.
J.A.T Robinson, on the other hand, in his book “Redating the New Testament” dates the writing of all NT books prior to A.D. 70.
MY VERDICT AND THOUGHTS:
Non-fulfillment of numerous divinely inspired (see John 16:13), time-restricted, and eschatological hopes and judgment statements throughout the New Testament absolutely demands a verdict—they were not inspired. There is no other valid way around it. And “delay theory” is not an option (see Heb. 10:37; Hab. 2:3).
If, in fact, the Holy-Spirit led expectations of the New Testament writers and the early Church failed and have proven false for over 19 centuries and counting, how can we trust them to have conveyed other aspects of the faith along to us accurately—such as the requirements for salvation?
For me, it’s that basic. It’s that simple. BUT WHAT DO YOU THINK?
FOR MORE, much more on this topic, see on this site “Our Teachings” and click on “Two Creations,” “Last Days,” and “Second Coming.” Also, check out my book, “The Perfect Ending for the World” on Amazon.com and “Look Inside” for FREE.